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Old November 20th 03, 03:51 PM
Jon Isaacs
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Default Telescope for Child

I think the
telescope that can lay foundation for children's future scientific knowledge
is the best telescope. It doesn't necessarily mean that 6" Telescope with
quality eyepieces.



Some Random thoughts:

1. There is no doubt that a telescope (or even binoculars) can energize a child
and may nurture a lifelong interest. It sounds to me like your daughter is
getting a good education and some real joy from that Tasco scope.

My advice with such scopes is that if one is choosing, then buy something else,
but if this is what one has, then it can provide some real pleasure. And with
some work and effort (which the child can help with), these scopes can be quite
decent.

Many of us started with scopes that are inferior to your Tasco, I started with
a $10 garage sale scope that was barely useable.

2. However, if one is going to buy a scope, there is no need to spend good
money on an inappropriate or poor quality telescope. The 114GT costs something
like $200. For that same $200 there are options that I believe are more
applicable for a child.

The two scopes that come to mind are the Orion Starblast and the Orion XT4.5.
Both small DOBs that are of reasonable quality and that come with decent
eyepieces. The XT4.5 is a better choice IMHO because it comes with better
eyepieces and has a longer focal ratio (and focal length) which will provide
sharper views, especially of the planets and moon.

Both these scopes are small and useable by a child.

3. The reason that binoculars have been traditionally recommended as a first
tool is because they are a step in learning the sky. Telescopes provide only
narrow fields of view which means often one is missing the bigger picture while
zooming in on some object that was on some chart. Binoculars allow the
discovery and understanding of the night sky on a different scale.

There is plenty to see with a 4.5 inch scope but traditionally the idea has
been to learn the sky first in various steps.

With the advent of GOTO scopes, this has changed but the advice is still good
advice if one is interested in learning how to navigate the night sky rather
than just rely on the telescope to do it for you.

So in my view binoculars are an essential part of anyone's tool kit. With
binoculars you can scan the sky in big swaths and find interesting things to
look at. They also are valuable in locating stars when "star hopping." And in
their own right, viewing with binoculars alone can be a great pleasure.

These days good binoculars can be had for under $50, for children, the size
and weight are important considerations.

-----

So I am with Rod Mollise on this one, "Any scope is a good scope." (Well not
quite, that $8 Big Lots 40X45 scope is probably close to unusable.)

If you got it use it, it will be fun. But if you are buying something and have
real money to spend, then there are some real choices to be made that will
allow one to get the best value for those hard earned dollars.

jon